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Post by Arturo Classico on Oct 23, 2007 12:00:33 GMT -5
So with the terrible ratings, no main event, no ability lately to push any of the midcard, the possibility of losing tv shows. Will WWE die just as WCW did?
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Post by MGH on Oct 23, 2007 12:00:54 GMT -5
Not a chance.
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bigHEADinc
El Dandy
Wanted Conway Twitty as a special title.
lest we forget...
Posts: 7,711
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Post by bigHEADinc on Oct 23, 2007 12:02:02 GMT -5
You people are funny... "WWE Collapses!"... Yeah, okay...
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Post by Clash, Never a Meter Maid on Oct 23, 2007 12:02:20 GMT -5
No.
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Post by Hulkshi Tanahashi on Oct 23, 2007 12:02:30 GMT -5
No, because Vince McMahon will put out all to stops to put on a great show whenever bankruptcy is a real and possible threat.
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Mr. Mediocre
Hank Scorpio
Bert Early?... sorry, that's a typo. Butt. Ugly.
Much better since I was last here.
Posts: 6,249
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Post by Mr. Mediocre on Oct 23, 2007 12:03:22 GMT -5
Collapse might be overstating it just a tad bit.
WWE is in trouble right now...make no mistake. 2007 has been absolutely terrible for them. But collapse? Come on. Collapse means WWE will be closing up shop imminently, and since they're still making money, I seriously doubt it'll happen.
Plus the ratings for Raw are better than most shows on cable, even if they're down for Raw.
And not pushing the midcard has been a problem for a while...when was the last time there was an IC title match at WrestleMania?
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Post by emoney3265 on Oct 23, 2007 12:05:07 GMT -5
I believe they may struggle a little if TNA ever grows to two shows but for now? Nah. Who knows... maybe if TNA was competing with them then maybe wrestling could grow to be huge again. But collapse? No chance for the foreseeable future.
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Post by Arturo Classico on Oct 23, 2007 12:06:28 GMT -5
Well in 1998 no one thought WCW would die. But yet 3 years later in 2001 WCW was dead and bought by WWF. Now Isn't it possible this could happen to WWF? Look at the ratings they have dropped way off and with the steroids scandals, Benoit death I think this has really made a big impact on the company and have severly wounded them and we all know what WWE is like when they are paranoid.
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Si
AC Slater
THE Si!
Posts: 210
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Post by Si on Oct 23, 2007 12:08:00 GMT -5
WCW was wasting millions of dollars on old talent (sup Hulkster) and things like the KISS Demon. WWE is not doing the same.
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Push R Truth
Patti Mayonnaise
Unique and Special Snowflake, and a pants-less heathen.
Perpetually Constipated
Posts: 39,294
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Post by Push R Truth on Oct 23, 2007 12:08:19 GMT -5
No Chance
No Chance in Hell
(TNA Maybe)
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bigHEADinc
El Dandy
Wanted Conway Twitty as a special title.
lest we forget...
Posts: 7,711
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Post by bigHEADinc on Oct 23, 2007 12:09:22 GMT -5
Well in 1998 no one thought WCW would die. But yet 3 years later in 2001 WCW was dead and bought by WWF. Now Isn't it possible this could happen to WWF? Look at the ratings they have dropped way off and with the steroids scandals, Benoit death I think this has really made a big impact on the company and have severly wounded them and we all know what WWE is like when they are paranoid. There will always be a wrestling fan base out there in the US. The WWE is the ONLY major brand of pro wrestling out there (Please, let's not compare TNA to WWE yet, that's what killed ECW)... They are still the most well known and are as analogous (in their WWF form) to Wrestling as Coke is to Soda or Band-Aids are to Adhesive Bandages.
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Post by emoney3265 on Oct 23, 2007 12:09:39 GMT -5
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Post by Nuke is Good on Oct 23, 2007 12:15:57 GMT -5
No, WWE is still very strong on the international market.
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Post by Near Fantastica on Oct 23, 2007 12:17:49 GMT -5
No matter how bad some people think the product may be, the kids absolutely love it all year round. It's the kids that are buying the merchandise.
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Post by Kenny Brockelstein on Oct 23, 2007 12:18:12 GMT -5
Well in 1998 no one thought WCW would die. But yet 3 years later in 2001 WCW was dead and bought by WWF. Now Isn't it possible this could happen to WWF? Look at the ratings they have dropped way off and with the steroids scandals, Benoit death I think this has really made a big impact on the company and have severly wounded them and we all know what WWE is like when they are paranoid. Yes but in 2001 there was a massively successful national company like WWE for wrestling fans to watch. WWE is run far too well to be compared to WCW, some fierce cost cutting in recent years has meant the company is still very profitable. No doubt about it, 2007 has been a terrible year for the company, but it is on a sound financial footing.
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Post by Spankymac is sick of the swiss on Oct 23, 2007 12:22:52 GMT -5
Now? No, not a chance. When Vince dies, and by extension, the glue holding the place together basically evaporates? Then we'll talk about the outside possibility.
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Post by kwydjebo on Oct 23, 2007 12:28:27 GMT -5
So with the terrible ratings, no main event, no ability lately to push any of the midcard, the possibility of losing tv shows. Will WWE die just as WCW did? But they still: 1) Have TV 2) Are making money. WCW was dependant upon the deep turner pockets for years (Prior to the NWO WCW never turned a profit, although, to be fiar their losses were only a few mill a year....and since Ted Turner felt he owed wrestling he was willing to swallow this minor loss) and in its final years its looses were trememndous, (Rumors of it being over 100 mill a year are the commonly accepted belief) The TIme Warner Merger lead to new management who decided that the losses would not be tolerated (Had Turner still been the final say would even he have accepted such a huge red mark?) and as you may recall, several proposals were made to save the company, however those deals fell through when it was decided that the existing TV time (Monday Nitro, and Wensday Yunder) was not part of the deal. Now WWE...as bad as the product may be.....they are still turning a profit (Although one would have to speculate a better product with more fans and higher ratings would lead to MORE profits....). RAW is still (to what I've heard) a secure property with no plans to dump it. Smackdow seems stable and as for ECW...well that was a crappy experiment to begin with so it should be little surprise that the sow is getting dumped (Had they given Paul Heymen Free reign to revive classic ECW they may have....at the least....opened up an alternative wrestling fanbase.....) Now at current rate, it is concievable that WWE could fade away as WCW has, however that would take some years, and Vince, for all his faults, has shown (In the past) that when his back is against the wall he can in fact find some way to save his company. The inital national WWF was a do or die experiment,as was wrestlemania, and during the Monday night wars at one point it was believed that the WWF was in fact destined to end up as WCW eventually did. Remember Those who don't learn from history are doomed to have smug know it alls blather on about what happened in an attempt to impress others with their knowledge. ;D
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Post by 'Foretold' Joker on Oct 23, 2007 12:31:25 GMT -5
So with the terrible ratings, no main event, no ability lately to push any of the midcard, the possibility of losing tv shows. Will WWE die just as WCW did? The ratings aren't terrible, just not as high as during the boom for wrestling, which ended 3-4 years ago. They have plenty of Main Eventers (Edge, Undertaker, HBK, Orton, Cena, Batista, Rey Mysterio, HHH) and a special attraction (Khali) Midcard is getting a push despite the naysayers. Lashley, Kennedy, both Hardy's, Umaga, CM Punk, MVP, Morrison and arguably Carlito are all solid enough with fans and get regular tv time. RAW and Smackdown will remain and get new TV deals as they still bring in the ratings even if they are lower than during the boom time of Rock and Austin. ECW won't but then again it's the equivalent of heat in regard to actual priority to wwe. Alll in all the WWE is fine.
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Post by Lenny: Smooth like Keith Stone on Oct 23, 2007 12:34:47 GMT -5
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Post by molson5 on Oct 23, 2007 12:45:06 GMT -5
Excellent post by kwydjebo. WCW didn't go out of business because of low ratings or crappy product. Even at the end of Nitro's run, their ratings were plenty high enough to support a wrestling promotion. You don't need 4s and 5s. Wrestling survived outside of primetime for years.
People often make the point, "You would never guess in 1998 that WCW would go under". I did, and so did many others. They created a promotion that REQUIRED the popularity of the wrestling boom years to survive. That's the stupidist thing you can do in business - assuming the status quo, that there will never be down years.
The WWE is run far differently. The wrestling industry could decline another 200% and the company would still be going. Their business model isn't tied to any particular economy.
Without competition, their talent contracts surely look WAY different than WCWs did. I doubt there's any guaranteed money hanging out there except MAYBE for Cena and HHH. (And even there, those contracts look way different than those of Hogan, Hall, and Nash).
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